Darrell Lea

OVERALL

Owned

AUS

Rating

Confectionery manufacturer

Established in 1927 and privately owned by the Lea family until getting into financial trouble in 2012 and being acquired by the Quinn family. In 2018 Quadrant Private Equity bought a majority stake for $200m. The Quinn family also sold a majority stake in its VIP Petfoods business in 2015 to Quadrant. Darrell Lea acquired the Life Savers brand from Nestle in 2018, acquiring the rights to the lolly in Australia and New Zealand.

Sydney-based mid-market private equity firm established in 1996 and investing in companies in Australia and New Zealand. Former investments include VIP Pet Foods, Burson Auto Parts and Red Rooster. Formed the RiteBite Group in 2019 after acquiring Darrell Lea and another 8 snack brands.

Owned by the Quinn family, who previously owned VIP Petfoods and Darrell Lea before selling them both to Quadrant Private Equity in 2015 and 2018 respectively. The Quinns also own a string of businesses in Australia and New Zealand, including motor racing complexes.

Company Assessment

For 9 years Darrell Lea avoided repeated attempts by Stop the Traffik Australia to discuss using cocoa certified as free of trafficked and forced labour in its chocolate products. In April 2018 Darrell Lea finally announced their intention to make their cocoa procurement 100% sustainable within the following 12 months.[Source 2018][More on Workers Rights]

Brands owned by this company were rated 'green' in Greenpeace's 2011 Truefood Guide, signifying a clear policy on excluding GM-derived ingredients, including oils derived from GM crops, and animal products from animals fed on GM crops. However since then the company has had a change of ownership so their current GM status in unknown.[Source 2011][More on Genetic Engineering]

This company's Smooze products have been verified as compliant with the Non-GMO Project Standard, North America's only independent verification for products made according to best practices for GMO avoidance.[Source 2019][More on Genetic Engineering]